Google Wave Part 1: Look out, there's a (Google) wave coming

Unless you've been living under a rock, and a good distance away from the World Wide Web at that, you would have heard of the new online sensation called Google Wave. Is it a chat room, you might wonder? Maybe a new and improved email system? Perhaps it's a video player or a photo album? Well, yes - to all of those questions. It is those things and more.

From the same creators as Google Maps, Google Wave began with some questions that weren't being answered with any of the other thousands of applications that are being used online today. The creators wondered why there are such staunch lines between different modes of communication. They thought that it might be best if we could participate in all of those different methods of communicating online, all in the one space. And while we're at it, how about putting the person back behind that communication? A lot of online communication today is about the content rather than the author. And so Google Wave was created.

Wave hello

In layman terms, a Google 'wave' is a document slash conversation. People that create or are a part of the 'wave' can communicate with each other through text, pictures, videos, chat, maps and more.

Say you have a team assignment on. You and your team members can create a 'wave', and keep in contact throughout the entire process ensuring all of your comments and notes are all in the one place. You can post ideas or links that you think they may find useful. You can drag photos or images in for them to look at. You can correct or edit any information that your other team members wrote. Want to start a separate conversation? Start a 'wavelet' - a subset of the larger conversation. All of this you can see on the screen in 'real time' as you and your team communicate character by character. You can even 'rewind' the wave back so that you can see what was happening a few days ago or find a useful note from weeks before.

Sharing the Wave

The big pull about Google Wave is that it is focused on people. Emails can sometimes get a little sterile, whilst Facebook and twitter can be a little too casual. Enter this new application, and you have a happy medium. It takes the order and clean lines of an email inbox and combines that with the familiarity and fun of the current social media obsession. It aims to let the person behind the text be the main focus, in order for better communication to take place. Your contacts are easily accessible as this, after all, is the main reason you'll be using it. With the wave, you are able to communication quickly and with a range of different methods and applications, enabling you to better get your message across to the other wave members.

Getting on the same wavelength

Faster communication is another key to the hype behind this new application. Attaching documents is unnecessary - all you need to do is click and drag from your desk top, and the file is viewable in the stream of the wave. This could mean the end of those boring boardroom meetings where you furiously scribble down notes and then leave wondering what on earth you contributed or got out of it. Google Wave allows you to interact with your colleagues, still in real time, but with easy access to each other's notes, files or thoughts. And at the end, you have a readily accessible document full of detailed minutes! Now that's good communication.

So it seems the wave has hit. Now all you need to do is grab a surfboard and find your way into the surf. For more information and how-to on what Google Wave can do for your business, look out for the second part of this article - what Google Wave can do for your business.